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Update: UTLA-PACE Spends, Bloomberg Donates

New independent expenditure (IE) numbers posted late yesterday on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission website show a spike in spending on behalf of supported candidates, including $138,000 spent by UTLA-PACE, the political arm of United Teachers Los Angeles, the first such spending that’s been posted.

In the meantime, the Coalition for School Reform has just announced a $1 million contribution from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Mayor Bloomberg is the most important voice in education reform today,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a Coalition press release. “It is an honor to have his support, and we deeply appreciate his willingness to invest in our students’ futures here.”

District 2: This race in downtown LA could top records when all is said and done. So far, City Ethics reports that UTLA-PACE has spent $51,000 against LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia. Garcia herself has lots of outside help: the Coalition for School Reform has spent $251,000; SEIU has spent $71,000, and the LA County Federation of Labor spent $44,000, for a total of $366,000 on her behalf.

District 4: The biggest combined spending is in this Westside race, where incumbent School Board member Steve Zimmer faces an expensive challenge by Kate Anderson. According to City Ethics, UTLA-PACE has spent $86,000 on direct mailers and phone banking to support his reelection bid. He’s the only candidate who is getting combined union backing: in addition to UTLA, SEIU Local 99 has spent $87,000, and the LA County Federation of Labor has spent $42,000, for a total of $215,000 of outside money on his behalf. His opponent, Kate Anderson, is also getting big help from the outside: the Coalition for School Reform has spent a total of $269,000 to boost her race.

District 6: Outside money in the East San Fernando Valley race centers on one candidate, Antonio Sanchez, who has gotten help from the Coalition for School Reform to the tune of $280,000, with SEIU kicking in $69,000 and the LA County Federation spending $44,000 for a total of $393,000 on his behalf. Sanchez and his two opponents, Monica Cano and Maria Ratliff, have all been endorsed by UTLA, but so far, the City Ethics website has not reported any spending by UTLA-PACE in this race.